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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Invasive Species by Ellery Adams

    April 8, 2026
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    Once again I am working with MB Communications, who have provided this book to me gratis in exchange for my honest review. This novel will be released on April 14th, 2026.

    Monsters Among Us

    Ellery Adams is not an author I am familiar with, but I found Invasive Species a real page turner. If you are a fan of Madeline Miller ( Circe, The Song of Achilles) or V.E. Schwabb (The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil) you will likely find Adams latest work a good read. Here is my book review Invasive Species by Ellery Adams.

    Long Island New York

    Invasive Species is set in the small, tightly knit community of Cold Harbor in Long Island NY. A town on a bay, where everyone is trying to live an idyllic life. Four female friends are close but also in constant competition with each other.

    Also in the community is an ancient and falling apart mansion, home to Mrs. Smith. But no one ever sees Mrs. Smith. In fact most people can’t remember the last time she showed her face. Who is the mysterious woman living shut up in this creepy old house?

    Mrs. Smith

    Of course Mrs. Smith is not who or what people think she is. Living next door, 12 year old Jill and her Nanny Una both fear and wonder about the house and the woman. When one day Mrs. Smith finally re-emergizes into the community, Jill and Una know something bad is about to happen. The community, however embraces Mrs. Smith, including inviting her to a Bar Mitzvah where every child in town will be in attendance. Something mysterious and gruesome is about to happen and Jill and Una must use every ounce of courage they can to try and save the people of Cold Harbor.

    Book Review Invasive Species by Ellery Adams

    If you like mythical and magical stories Invasive Species will have you glued to the page. The novel launches April 14, 2026.

    ****Four stars for Invasive Species by Ellery Adams. Thanks for reading my book review Invasive Species by Ellery Adams. See last week’s book review Isola by Allegra Goodman.

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Isola by Allegra Goodman

    April 1, 2026
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    Isola by Allegra Goodman is a luminous and contemplative novel that explores exile, identity, and the fragile threads that bind people to one another. Here is my book review Isola by Allegra Goodman

    Survival

    Set against the stark beauty of an isolated island, the story follows a young woman cast out from the structures that once defined her life. Goodman’s prose is restrained yet evocative. It captures both the physical austerity of the landscape and the emotional turbulence of her protagonist. The island setting becomes more than a backdrop. It functions as a crucible in which questions of faith, survival, and selfhood are stripped to their essence. This poses a psychological story of human endurance through hunger, heartache, loneliness, and resilience.

    Isolation

    There are quiet and terrifying rhythms of isolation. Goodman’s story builds and places readers clearly in the visual and painful story. The story inhabits the slow passage of time alongside her characters.

    Based on a Real Woman

    Like many of my favorite books, Isola is a fictional tale based on a real woman. Marguerite de La Rocque was an orphaned French noblewoman from the 16th century who endured abandonment.

    Ultimately, Isola is a meditation on what it means to endure—physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Goodman resists easy resolutions, instead offering a nuanced portrait of transformation shaped by hardship. The novel explores themes of friendship, love, abandonment, death, faith and a women’s strength against all odds.

    Book Review Isola by Allegra Goodman

    Thank you for reading my book review Isola by Allegra Goodman. ****Four stars for Isola by Allegra Goodman. See last week’s book review Pick a Color.

    We are always grateful when you pin, share and comment on our book reviews. Thank you.

    Isola by Allegra Goodman
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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Pick a Color by Souvankham Thammavongsa

    March 25, 2026
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    If you have ever been to a nail salon where the staff speaks another language, you will identify with Pick a Color. This short, easy to read, but profoundly intimate novel surprised the heck out of me. Here is my book review Pick a Color by Souvankham Thammavongsa.

    The Susan’s

    Ning owns a nail salon, but her clients think her name is Susan. In fact, every manicurist in the salon goes by the name Susan. It’s easy for the girls in the salon to be anonymous to the clients who come to be buffed and polished. Ning and the other Susan’s listen and agree to what the clients say, even when talking about the clients to each other in their own language.

    Just Another Day

    Pick a Color takes place over one day in the salon. Where we get to know Ning and her intellect and insecurities. A former boxer, Ning likes the rhythm of the salon, and spends her time shuffling memories and fears through her mind as she manages both her own clients and the rest of the Susans. Each of the other girls also managing their fears and trials of life as an immigrant.

    The Immigrant Experience

    Ning’s story, like so many others, is a daily grind of regret and hope, as she manages her expectations for her future, and processes the events of her past. Written in a fast-paced and intense dialogue, it’s an unusual setting with great characters who toll to the privileged clients who don’t even know their names.

    ****Four stars for Pick a Color by Souvankham Thammavongsa.

    Thank you for reading my Book Review Pick a Color by Souvankham Thammavongsa. See last week Book Review Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout.

    As always, we love your comments, pins and shares. Thank you.

    Pick a Color
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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout

    March 18, 2026
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    Pulitizer Prize winning novelist Elizabeth Strout is known for her novels with shared characters expertly developed and engaging. Although she has many more books, this is the fourth novel I have read of hers. And per usual Tell Me Everything reintroduces the reader to several of her most loved characters. Here is my book review Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout.

    Unrecorded Lives

    A theme in this book revolves around storytelling, and recognizing “unrecorded lives”. In the small Maine town where everybody knows your name, prominent and aging Olive Kitteridge begins a friendship with writer Lucy Barton. The two get together regularly to talk and Lucy tells Olive stories of people. Exceptional stories of unrecorded lives. Olive, a bit of crumudgion and nosy octogenarian of the town, sees a loneliness in Lucy.

    The Kindness of Bob

    While Olive is considered a little difficult, Bob Burgess is the local good guy. Bob has he lived his life taking the blame for an accident he did not cause, and yet he is always ready to help others. He is also is Lucy Barton’s close friend. The two seem to be headed to a romantic relationship out of shared stories and loneliness. Bob brings groceries every week to a shut- in, helps anyone and everyone who asks, and sits in the pew every week listening to his wife’s sermons in the local church. And yet something is missing in his life.

    A Murder

    Bob is an attorney and he agrees to take on a client who has been accused of murder. Here the novel continues to explore themes of empathy and loneliness, family secrets and love. Strout has a particular way of bringing to light the hidden stories of people in the community. She explores how tragedy and regret from childhood and young adulthood can define lives. She does this in a simple storytelling style through meaningful characters we can identify with.

    Book Review Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout

    I think I was in the right frame of mind for this book, and I enjoyed the most of the books I have read by Elizabeth Strout.

    *****Five stars for Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout

    Thank you for reading my Book Review Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout. Please see last week’s Book Review Her Cold Justice by Robert Dugoni.

    As always your comments, shares and pins are very much appreciated.

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Her Cold Justice by Robert Dugoni

    March 11, 2026
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    Once again I am working with MB Communications, who have provided this book to me gratis in exchange for my honest review. This novel was released on January 27, 2026.

    This is my third novel I have read by Seattle author Robert Dugoni. However, this is my first one of his legal thriller series featuring Keera Dugan. Here is my book review Her Cold Justice by Robert Dugoni.

    Robert Dugoni

    I absolutely loved Dugoni’s The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell and his fascinating novel Hold Strong which he co-authored with Jeff Langholz. Both made my top 15 list for last year! But Dugoni is more well known for his police series and legal thriller series. And this new novel is my first foray into his work in this genre.

    Injustice and the Courtroom

    Dugani, a self-proclaimed “recovering lawyer” knows his stuff when he writes about injustice and the courtroom. In Her Cold Justice, the third in a series, we meet attorney Keera Duggan. Following and living in the shadow of her famous attorney father, Keera is determined to prove herself. She is given the opportunity when she takes on a case of a young man accused of smuggling drugs, and also of murder.

    It’s a huge case for the young attorney and she uses every bit of savy and wit to fight her way despite circumstantial evidence. Keera faces ruthless prosecutor Ann Tran, herself a victim of childhood violence, who is known for winning on much less evidence. Kerra is not deterred.

    Keera Duggan

    Throughout the novel you root for Keera, despite the difficulty of the case, the shadow of her father and her own personal demons. Will she save her client from life in prison?

    Her Cold Justice by Robert Dugoni

    Thank you for reading my book review Her Cold Justice by Robert Dugoni. See last week’s book review The True True Story of Raja the Gullible by Rabih Alameddine.

    ****Four stars for Her Cold Justice by Robert Dugoni. We are always grateful when you comment, pin and share our book reviews. Thank you.

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    At Home

    Taking a Break

    Putting My Health First

    March 6, 2026
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    Well I’ve put it off for three years, and now I just can’t wait anymore. I’m taking a break to have knee replacement surgery. I’m allowing myself about six months to recover, so I will be laying low at home. Our next international travel isn’t until September 1st.

    Looking forward to being back on my mountain and healthy

    Putting My Health First

    I want to continue to be active well into my 80’s. I also want to continue to travel well into my 70’s. So I take my health seriously. We eat healthy and lead a very active life. After my 2021 surgery for diverticulosis, I swore I wasn’t going to put my body through a major surgery again. But, here I am. Ces’t la vie.

    Taking a Break

    So while I focus on my recovery through the summer, I am taking a break. You will continue to see book reviews, at least for a while as I have several already written and scheduled. But as for travel blogs, there won’t be many. Possibly a few local Pacific Northwest posts once summer is underway. It also is a good time for me to do a little background work on the blog, cleaning, fixing and updating.

    Please Don’t Forget Us

    We will be back. We have a wonderful itinerary of international travel planned September, October and November. You won’t want to miss it as we visit new to us places like Greenland, Svalbard, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Azores and more. So please don’t forget us.

    Healthy is the goal

    Until Then

    Until then, I’m taking a break. Thanks for all your support, and we will talk soon. See last week’s post Let’s Talk Tamales here.

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review The True True Story of Raja the Gullible by Rabih Alameddine

    March 4, 2026
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    Humorous and poignant, and told in a very funny voice of the protagonist, this unexpected book was one of my favorite reads on a recent travel trip. Here is my book review The True True Story of Raja the Gullible by Rabih Alameddine.

    Sixty Years of Gullible

    Raja tells the story of his life. At 63 he is living with his mother, in a tiny apartment with a dining room table that takes up most of the space. Raja, a philosophy teacher and the “neighborhood homosexual” just wants to live in peace in his sixties. But his 80 year old mother will have none of it. Raja has spent his whole life not really seeing who his mother really is, only that she meddles in his life.

    Family

    Raja despises his greedy brother who takes advantage of their mother. When Raja’s mother is left without a place to live due to his brother’s greedy tendencies, she moves in with Raja. And bring’s her family heirloom gigantic dining room table. Raja’s mother becomes active in neighborhood and Lebanese activism and Raja sees no peace in his future and needs to get away from his mother.

    Unexpected

    When Raja receives an invitation to attend a writing conferecne in the USA he jumps at the chance. But on arrival it doesn’t take long to see something is fishy. Ghosts from Raja’s past appear and he has to flee. Returning to Beirut thanks to his mother enlisting the help of her wealthy activist friend. Only after the death of Raja’s mother will he understand more clearly who she really was.

    Book Review The True True Story of Raja the Gullible by Rabih Alameddine

    Laugh out loud funny, Raja takes us through his sixty years of a life of trauma, drama and his mama, with humor and humility.

    ****Four stars for The True True Story of Raja the Gullible of Rabih Alameddine.

    Thank you for reading my book review The Tue True Story of Raja the Gullible by Rabih Alameddine. See last week’s book review Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood.

    We are always grateful for your pins, shares and comments.

    Book Review The True True Story of Raja the Gullible
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